Qantas is increasing services to Western Australian mining towns enjoying the global minerals boom led by the surging Chinese economy. The airline will add five weekly services from Perth, the state capital, to Port Hedland, an important center for the iron ore industry, plus three to Broome and two to Newman. Boeing 737s will replace 717s on services to Karratha and Kalgoorlie, the latter a key gold mining town. The state of Western Australia is about four times as big as Texas.
The Caribbean Tourism Development Company has launched a new Web site to promote travel to the region. The consumer-focused site, www.caribbeantravel.com, offers an airline booking portion powered by Travelocity. The CTDC is owned equally by the Caribbean Tourism Organization and the Caribbean Hotel Association. “This branding strategy should help reap rewards not just for the businesses that operate in the region, but for the people and communities who call the Caribbean home,” said Caroline Racine, director of Caribbean franchise development for Choice Hotels.
The new U.S./European Union open-skies agreement does not create too many competitive headaches at London Heathrow despite the addition of extra transatlantic flights, a Virgin Atlantic executive believes.
The U.K.’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) announced last week it has renewed Lockheed Martin’s support contract for its London Area Control (LAC) operation, in a deal worth GBP80 million (US$161 million). The contract extension is the second awarded to Lockheed for support of LAC. It will cover support and maintenance for the LAC ATC system through 2013, although options could extend this through 2018.
As the industry continues to evolve, airlines will look more toward a la carte pricing for services beyond tickets, said Mark Mitchell, managing director-customer experience for American. Airlines are trying to get passengers to pay for what they use, said Scott Dolan, senior VP-airport operations for United. “This is a way to offset our costs.”
The revision of a Bureau of Reclamation rule will ensure access for seaplanes at more than 400 lakes in 17 western states, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. The bureau issued a rule in 2006 requiring documentation showing that lakes were used in the past for seaplanes before they could be used again. AOPA, the Seaplane Pilots Association and other groups lobbied for the rule revision, which is expected to be issued in the next few months.
Indonesian government will sell up to 40% of Garuda Indonesia in an initial public offering, possibly this year, but will not immediately pursue its plan to bring in a strategic partner for the barely profitable carrier. The timing will depend on the state of financial markets, however, says state Enterprises Minister Sofyan Djalil. If the sale doesn’t go through this year, then it will be next year, he says.
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FAA’s initial review of U.S. airline compliance with airworthiness directives closed Friday, with most of the aircraft needing reinspection already returned to service. Rather than expecting to find ADs that were not completed, FAA spokesman Les Dorr said the agency’s inspectors are verifying technical compliance with the directives and questioning how maintenance personnel completed the work. At this point in the audit, Dorr said, “FAA has seen an overwhelming level of compliance.”
Overall transatlantic travel is still growing, but at a slower pace, says Donald N. Martin & Co. The leading airlines in the market saw their traffic grow 3.9% in February, down from January’s 5.1% and December’s 8.9%. Some European tourist offices are projecting little or no growth in travel from Americans for 2008. However, Commerce Dept. figures have yet to show that to be the case, and the industry is encouraged by the continued rise in new U.S. passport applications.
Boeing has stepped in to undo a major partnership in its global supply chain for the troubled 787 program by agreeing to acquire Vought Industries’ 50% share of the Italian-American fuselage builder, Global Aeronautica.
The first stage of the historic open-skies agreement between the U.S. and the European Union went into effect at midnight yesterday. Negotiations on the second stage of the agreement are expected to begin in May.
Airfares in Mexico are going up by 3% to 5% as a direct result of increasing fuel prices, Gilberto Lopez Meyer, CEO of Mexico’s civil aviation regulator DGAC, said last week.
The Airbus A380 will have top billing at Chile’s bi-annual Fidae Air Fair and Trade Show, scheduled from March 31 to April 16 at Santiago’s Arturo Benitez Airport. Hundreds of exhibitors, among them 144 aircraft, plus expert panelists from all over the world and some 40,000 professional visitors are expected to attend this year. The A380 will be open to trade and media viewing during the entire event, now Latin America’s most important of its kind.
Hundreds of canceled flights by American and Delta marked this week’s segue into next week’s House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s hearings on FAA’s oversight of airline maintenance practices that has turned attention away from airlines and toward FAA. Following American’s cancellation of 300 flights to re-inspect wiring bundles on its MD-80s on Wednesday, Delta yesterday said it will cancel 275 flights through today — 3% of its worldwide schedule — to voluntarily revalidate an earlier airworthiness directive.
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Airbus has decided to shift the A350 to a 5,000 psi hydraulics system as part of the continuing process to refine the design for the new twin-widebody. The shift comes with weight savings because the higher pressure configuration can operate with smaller pipes and actuators.
JetBlue founder and Chairman David Neeleman said he has raised $150 million to finance a new low-cost, low-fare airline based in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and announced that the company has placed a firm order for 36 Embraer E-195 jets valued at $1.4 billion (DAILY, March 21).
Skybus is trying to renegotiate with some airports and at least two big vendors in an effort to further lower its costs. A spokesman for the ultra-low-cost airline said it began talks within the last couple of weeks with some of its smaller airports and with the contractors for its outsourced ground operations and maintenance services.
The outlook remains gloomy regarding any significant loosening of U.S. airline foreign ownership restrictions over the next four years, a range of industry representatives said yesterday.
All Nippon Airways will be a launch operator for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ), committing itself to another pioneering role in an airliner despite its unhappy experience with Boeing 787 delays. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has taken an order from the airline for 15 of the advanced regional jets, which will boast a composite wing and Pratt & Whitney geared turbofan engines. All Nippon has options on 10 more.
